(A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical navigator sensor and optical navigator apparatus using the same, and more particularly, to an optical navigator sensor integrating light emitting device and optical sensor device, and to an optical navigator apparatus using the same.
(B) Description of the Related Art
From programming and document processing tools in the past, to entertainment devices for multimedia and video gaming nowadays, the roles computers serve have evolved in variety and become more and more important. As the interface between users and computers, mice have also evolved corresponding to the development of computers. The sensor techniques of mice, accordingly, have also adapted from ball-based, wheel-based, to LED-based and laser emitting device-based techniques, which utilize coherent light. Accordingly, the functions mice exhibit have extended from pure cursor moving to image zooming, fingerprint recognizing and a broad range of additional functions so that users can operate computers more easily.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a conventional optical mouse utilizing LED technique. The optical mouse 10 comprises a base plate 17 and a hole 11 on it, a lens/light pipe 19 settled on top of the hole 11, a circuit board 16 surrounding the lens/light pipe 19, an optical navigation sensor 13 settled on top of the lens/light pipe 19 and an LED 15. The base plate 17 could be placed on a surface 80, such as on a table or a mousepad, and can be moved along the surface 80. The light generated from the LED 15 is focused and guided by the lens/light pipe 19 and projected on the surface 80 through the hole 11. The light is reflected back from the surface 80 through the hole 11 and the lens/light pipe 19, passes through a hole on the bottom of the optical navigation sensor 13, and enters the optical navigation sensor 13. A photosensitive chip 12 in the optical navigation sensor 13 can capture the images induced by the optical mouse 10 moving through the surface 80, and compares the differences within to determine the amount of the displacement of the optical mouse 10.
The optical navigation sensor 13 is attached with a clip 14 to the circuit board 16 mounted on the base plate 17. Referring to the light path in FIG. 1, it is obvious that the accuracy of the 3D positioning of the LED 15, the lens/light pipe 19 and the optical navigation sensor 13 is very important. Any slight deviation may cause the optical navigation sensor 13 to be unable to receive light accurately. That is, conventional optical navigation apparatus, including optical mice, comprise many components that not only complicate the packaging process and cause higher manufacturing costs, but also require burdensome calibration to achieve a regular optical sensing function.
Therefore, there is a need to design an optical navigator sensor and optical navigator apparatus using the same that can be packaged with ease and costs less, so that the optical positioning process can be simplified and the accuracy thereof would not be compromised.